SERVES 4-6

55 g | 2 oz butter
450 g | 1 lb onions, sliced
½ clove of garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon plain flour
1.1 litres | 2 pints good stock, preferably brown
salt and freshly ground black pepper
55 g | 2 oz Gruyère cheese, grated
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
4-6 slices of French bread

1. Melt the butter in a large, heavy saucepan and slowly cook the onions: this should take at least 1 hour and the onions should become meltingly soft and greatly reduced in quantity. Cook until they are evenly golden-brown all over and transparent. Add the garlic after 45 minutes.
2. Stir the flour and cook until golden brown.
3. Add the stock and stir until boiling. Season with salt and pepper and simmer for 20 – 30 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 200 deg C | 400 deg F | gas mark 6.
5. Place the soup into an ovenproof tureen. Mix the Gruyère cheese with the mustard and pepper. Spread this on bread slices and place on top of soup. Put the soup (uncovered) in the oven until well browned and bubbling

WINE: Light Red

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Excerpt from Leiths Cookery Bible

[Leith, P., and Waldegrave, C., (2003), Leiths Cookery Bible, 3rd edition, Bloomburys, UK]

SERVES 4

110 g | 4 oz rindless streaky bacon, chopped
30 g | 1 oz butter
3 sticks of celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 large yellow pepper, cored, deseeded and finely chopped
1 bay leaf
1 large potato, peeled and diced
30 g | 1 oz plain flour
570 ml | 1 pint milk
4 ears of boiled sweetcorn or 340 g | 12 oz cooked sweetcorn kernels
salt and freshly ground black pepper

To Garnish
chopped fresh parsley

1. Fry the bacon in the butter. When brown but not crisp add the celery, onion, yellow pepper and bay leaf. Reduce the heat and cook slowly until the onion looks soft and transparent. Add the potato after 5 minutes.
2. Remove the pan from pan heat; mix in the flour, cook for 1 minute and then add the milk.
3. Return the pan from the heat; stir until boiling.
4. Cut the kernels from the ears and add them to the soup. Scrape the cobs with a sharp knife to extract all the juice and add this too. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are soft but not broken. Remove the bay leaf and discard.
5. Serve sprinkled with parsley.

Wine: DRY WHITE

________________________________________

Excerpt from Leiths Cookery Bible

[Leith, P., and Waldegrave, C., (2003), Leiths Cookery Bible, 3rd edition, Bloomburys, UK]

SERVES 4

1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 sticks of celery, finely chopped
55 g | 2 oz butter
45 g | 1 ½ oz plain flour
5 tablespoons dry white wine
1 litre | 1 ¾ pints white stock
290 ml | ½ pint milk, warmed
225 g | 8 oz Stilton cheese, grated or crumbled
2 tablespoons single cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Soften the onion and celery in the butter over low heat, covered with piece of damp greaseproof paper and a lid. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute.
2. Remove from the heat and stir in the wine. Return to the heat and bring to the boil to reduce the wine by half. Stir in the stock, bring to the boil, then simmer for 25 minutes.
3. Taste. Add the milk and simmer for 2 minutes. Do not boil. Remove from the heat and whisk in the Stilton. Liquidize in a food processor or blender and push through a sieve.
4. Add the cream and salt and pepper. Reheat the soup, taking care not to let it boil, or it will curdle and become stringy.

NOTES: White port, well chilled, is delicious with this soup.

The soup can be served chilled. In this event streak the cream into the soup just before serving, giving it an attractive marbled appearance.

Wine: LIGHT RED

________________________________________

Excerpt from Leiths Cookery Bible

[Leith, P., and Waldegrave, C., (2003), Leiths Cookery Bible, 3rd edition, Bloomburys, UK]

This is a Mediterranean peasant soup which calls for fresh basil and very fresh garlic.

SERVES 6 – 8

450 g | 1 lb dried haricot beans, soaked overnight
2 tablespoons oil (preferably olive)
225 g | 8 oz potatoes, peeled and diced
2 leeks, thinly sliced
2 carrots, thinly sliced
110 g | 4 oz green beans, sliced or chopped
1.7 litres | 3 pints white stock
½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vermicelli or other small pasta
4 ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon salt

For Pistou
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
4 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
3 tablespoons olive oil

To Serve
grated Gruyère cheese

1. Cook the Beans in boiling water for about 1 hour until half tender.
2. Heat the oil and add the potatoes, leeks and carrots. Cover and cook over a low heat until vegetables are soft.
3. Add the half=cooked dried beans, the green beans, stock and pepper. Simmer until the haricot beans are soft (about 1 ½ hours). Add the pasta and tomatoes, season with salt and cook for a further 10 minutes, or until the pasta is tender. Allow to cool a little before adding pistou.
4. Make the pistou: put the garlic and the basil in a mortar or blender and pound to paste. Add the oil drop by drop (as when making mayonnaise), mixing all the time, to form an emulsion. Just before serving, stir the pistou into a soup. Hand the cheese separately.

NOTE: Recipes for this soup vary along the Mediterranean according to local tradition and season. Courgettes, cabbage, and onions sometimes make their appearance. The Italian version of pesto, from which pistou is derived, is sometimes added to their soup, which is itself a version of Italian Minestrone.

Wine: LIGHT RED

________________________________________

Excerpt from Leiths Cookery Bible

[Leith, P., and Waldegrave, C., (2003), Leiths Cookery Bible, 3rd edition, Bloomburys, UK]

SERVES 4

30 g | 1 oz butter
225 g | 8 oz onions, very thinly sliced
225 g | 8 oz leeks, thinly sliced
1 small head of celery, thinned sliced
1 large potato, peeled and thinly sliced
570 | 1 pint white stock
salt and freshly ground white pepper
nutmeg, freshly grated
290 ml | ½ pint creamy milk
1 tablespoon single cream

1. Melt the butter in a very large, heavy saucepan. Stir in the onions, leeks, and celery and seat covered with a piece of damp greaseproof paper with a lid on, stirring occasionally, until the whole mass is soft (about 45 minutes).
2. Add the potatoes and stock, bring to the boil, stirring, and boil for 1 minute. Add the salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste and simmer gently for 20 min.
3. Liquidize the soup in a blender or food processor and pass through a sieve.
4. Reheat, and add the cream. Warm the milk and combine with vegetables.

NOTE: Do not add all the milk if the soup looks too thin.

Wine: DRY WHITE OR LIGHT RED

________________________________________

Excerpt from Leiths Cookery Bible

[Leith, P., and Waldegrave, C., (2003), Leiths Cookery Bible, 3rd edition, Bloomburys, UK]